9 Number of fights for Neil Magny since February 2014 as he fights for the fifth time in 2015, the second straight year he has fought five times in a calendar year
5 Number of wins for Magny in 2014, which tied the UFC record for most in a calendar year
27 Number of takedowns landed by Magny in his UFC career, tied for fifth-most among active UFC welterweights
524 Significant strikes landed by Magny in his UFC career, currently ninth-most among active UFC welterweights
2.17 Strike differential for Magny, which is the highest differential among active UFC welterweights
21 Age at which Kelvin Gastelum won “The Ultimate Fighter”, making him the youngest winner of TUF in history
2 Number of times Gastelum has officially missed weight for a welterweight bout out of five UFC bouts at 170 pounds
71.6 Significant strike defense percentage rate for Gastelum as a welterweight, which is the best among active UFC welterweights (min. 5 fights)
9 Inch reach disadvantage that Gastelum will have against Neil Magny
15 Current ranking for Gastelum in the UFC’s welterweight rankings
4 Current ranking for Ricardo Lamas in the UFC’s featherweight rankings
10:04 Average fight time for Lamas in the UFC
7 Submission attempts for Lamas in UFC competition, tied for seventh-most among active UFC featherweights
282 Number of UFC events that have occured since Diego Sanchez won the inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter”
4:37:57 Total fight time in the UFC career for Sanchez, which is fourth-most in UFC history
3 Times Sanchez has won “Fight Of The Year” in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Year-End Awards
3 Current ranking for Jussier Formiga in the UFC’s flyweight rankings
10:08 Average fight time for Formiga in the UFC, which is the shortest in the short history of the UFC’s flyweight division
14 Guard passes for Formiga in his four UFC wins as he has zero in his two UFC losses
9 Straight wins for Henry Cejudo to start his MMA career
4.09 Significant strikes landed per minute for Cejudo, third-best among active UFC flyweights
184 Significant strikes landed for Cejudo in three UFC bouts
3 Number of UFC stints for Efrain Escudero, who is the only TUF winner to be cut and then brought back to the promotion
5 Knockdowns by Escudero in the UFC, which is tied for eighth-most among active UFC lightweights
1722 Days between UFC wins for Escudero, who won at UFC 114 in May 2010 but didn’t score another Octagon win until UFC Fight Night 60 in February
2.63 Average number of takedowns landed per 15 minutes for Leandro Silva in UFC competition
55.5 Submission finishing rate percentage for Silva, who has scored ten of his 18 wins by submission
10 Takedowns landed by Silva during UFC competition
532 Days since Erik Perez’ last fight, a loss to Bryan Caraway at UFC Fight Night 42 in June 2014
13 Takedowns landed by Perez, tied for sixth-most among active UFC bantamweights
7:33 Average fight time for Perez, shortest among active UFC bantamweights (min. 5 fights)
6 Inches of reach advantage Taylor Lapilus will have over his opponent, Erik Perez
5.18 strikes landed per minute by Lapilus
371 Days since Hector Urbina’s last fight, a submission win over Edgar Garcia at UFC 180 in November 2014
67 Win percentage rate by knockout for Bartosz Fabinski, who has scored eight of his 12 wins by KO/TKO
1 Number of wins by Scott Jorgensen since the start of 2013 as he enters UFC Fight Night 78 having gone 1-5 in his last six fights
23 Length of the last fight, in seconds, for Alejandro Perez, who is coming off a submission loss to Patrick Williams at UFC 188 in June
7 Number of times Gabriel Benitez has been taken down over his two UFC bouts
3.57 Average number of takedowns landed per 15 minutes for Andre Fili
178 Number of significant strikes landed in two UFC bouts for Valmir Lazaro
13 Number of takedowns landed in four UFC bouts by Michel Prazeres
2 Number of first-round wins of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2 by welterweight finalist Erick Montano during the season
6 Straight wins by TUF: Latin America 2 welterweight finalist Enrique Marin
80 Finishing percentage rate for TUF: Latin America 2 lightweight finalist Enrique Barzola, who has scored eight of his ten wins by finish (4 by KO/TKO, 4 by submission)
3 Career fights for TUF: Latin America 2 lightweight finalist Horacio Gutierrez, making him the most inexperienced fighter on the fight card alongside Vernon Ramos
302 Number of days in the professional MMA career for Vernon Ramos, who made his professional debut on January 23 of this year
1178 Number of days since Alvaro Herrera last fought, which came on August 30, 2012
I’m actually looking forward to watching this show this week, as I know it can’t be three stinkers in a row. The hype video to open the show was a really well written WWE version of The Night Before Christmas poem. It’s only a two man announce crew tonight with The King and Cole having to fill the void of Matt Stryker.
Dark Match – Drew McIntyre defeated Alex Riley
Zach Ryder defeated Dolph Ziggler (c) (with Vickie Guerrero) in a singles match for the US Championship
I’m predicting Zach gets axed in the post Mania clearinghouse this year.
We are in the middle of the “WWE must talk about twitter all the time” horrible period.
Michael Cole just made as many social media references as he could.
Vicki got booted for putting Dolph’s foot on the rope. Why do refs allow anyone at ringside at anytime, ever? What percentage of time does the person at ringside NOT get involved?
This match is pretty good. A lot of heat actually. Too bad Zach accidentally got popular.
Ryder wins with the Rough Ryder.
I feel bad for Cole. No way could he actually be that big of a dork. He must hate himself.
Zach celebrated with his dad in the crowd.
Backstage, Alicia Fox chatted up Booker T until Cody Rhodes jumped him.
Air Boom (c) (Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne) defeated Primo and Epico (with Rosa Mendes) for the Tag Team Championship
Primo and Epico wore some sweet serapes to the ring.
The tag belts are awful. They’re bronze. “I’m the best at tag team wrestling. If you don’t believe me, check out my bronze belt.”
King claims that Air Boom breaks the laws of Physics. So, either Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston are wizards, or King doesn’t understand Physics.
Heat on Bourne is just an excuse to focus on Rosa’s, ahem, assets.
Cole, “Air Boom is trending. People are actually talking about the tag champs.” He really said that.
Why don’t tag matches ever end during the time of the match where two men are kicking the crap out of one?
Air Boom wins with Trouble in Paradise
Then there was a skit with Teddy Long as Santa and Hornswaggle as an elf. They do some awful race relation’s humor, and then Swaggy gets a gift from Teddy, which is Rosetta Stone in Ebonics. I wonder if they’ll follow up with this angle and bring Hornswaggle back as a jive talking elf.
Randy Orton defeated Wade Barrett in a tables match
Orton body watch: He’s tanned out of this world, and jacked. Definitely the best shape of his career to this point.
Your pretty standard table fare with a lot of brawling. A better than average match.
The finish was Orton catching a diving Barrett in an RKO through a table.
Then we got another Santa skit with the Bella’s arguing over who was the good one. Santa Teddy said they both were bad so Teddy gave them his card with his number. Then Jack Swagger showed up and griped about Mark Henry. Then Sheamus showed up and told us a story about someone getting their head in an arse.
Beth Phoenix (c) defeats Kelly Kelly
They replay the angle from the Slammy’s with Kelly Kelly winning Diva of the year. Very prestigious.
Remember when these two quit WWE for no real reason? Do you think they regret not being around for this amazing diva’s revolution?
Women wrestlers can just go ahead and not make sound when selling. It’s unsettling to hear Kelly Kelly screaming “no” and making horrible death noises while getting beaten up.
Beth Phoenix wins clean after the Glam Slam.
Alberto Del Rio is seen yelling at Ricardo when the Miz walks up to talk about their alliance. Del Rio admits he was playing the Miz, so Miz has to take a dig at the Baltimore Ravens. That ought to shut up world famous Baltimore Ravens fan Alberto Del Rio. Then Ricardo come back with a pie or something and gets it shoved in his face. They need to teach a WWE rules class at the performance center. I’ll start a tally. WWE Rule 1) Don’t carry a pastry anywhere.
Booker T. vs. Cody Rhodes
Cody jumps Book before Book even gets to the ring and the doctors determine he is unfit to perform. No match.
HHH defeats Kevin Nash in a sledgehammer ladder match
Home Depot must have sponsored this match. Actually, Home Depot should sponsor the whole PPV.
This was the ridiculous feud where Nash murdered HHH, as he laid unconscious strapped to a gurney.
“The sledgehammer can be used legally to beat your opponent.” Announcer, real quote.
Nash comes out to the nWo music.
HHH spends the opening part destroying Nash’s legs, including a figure four around the ladder. I think a higher percentage knee-destroying move on Kevin Nash would be to run an infinite crisscross. It would be funny just to see these two in a race. Quads vs. Knees.
Nash comes back and does his side slam on a ladder.
Nobody has gone after the sledgehammer, because in a ladder match, you’ve already been supplied with plenty of alternate types of sledgehammers.
HHH back drops Nash over the announcers’ table.
Here comes the table from under the ring. So I guess tables are allowed in a sledgehammer ladder match.
HHH hits Nash in the head with the hanging sledge, and Nash takes a bump through the table. That’s a decent bump for Nash.
HHH starts the sledgehammer beating. HHH connects with the pedigree and goes back to the sledge. Nash, in desperation, throws up the click hand sign, and HHH responds with a crotch chop and a final sledge shot. HHH wins.
Strkyer interviewed CM Punk about the beating he took on Raw. Punk’s promo was great. He ran down everyone in the match, and Cole, and John Laurinitis. Then Big Johnny showed up and they talk about the Slammy Punk was supposed to get. Punk get’s in a “future endeavors” line, and then Johnny has to point out that he’s taller than Punk. This company is so petty.
Sheamus defeats Jack Swagger (with Vicki Guerrero)
Good thing these guys didn’t get along backstage earlier or we would not have this buffer match.
I guess they’re giving Vicki a second chance to behave herself.
Boring match. Sheamus wins after the Brogue kick.
Big Show defeats Mark Henry (c) in a Chairs match for the World Heavyweight Championship.
This was the feud where they did the ring implosion spot.
Show starts the match by making it rain chairs.
Henry had his ankle heavily taped.
Show wins the title after delivering the Knock Out Punch through a chair.
Then Henry comes back and lays out Big Show with a DDT on the chairs.
I honestly wrote, “Mark Henry defeats Big Show” before watching the match because I couldn’t remember Show having a title run. Then I remembered why…. Daniel Bryan runs in after the match and cashes in his Money in the Bank contract and pins the Big Show.
We just saw two title changes.
Josh Matthews interviews Booker T and T says he’s going to fight Cody tonight! Oh thank heavens we get that match tonight!
Cody Rhodes (c) defeats Booker T for the Intercontinental Championship
This is the storyline where Booker T had been retired for two years. Was anyone dying for Booker T to come out of retirement?
I’ve never liked Booker T in any of his roles. Ok, King Book was pretty good, but nothing else. Well, I really liked when he and Goldust reviewed movies. But that’s it.
Cody wins after the Disaster kick, which Cole identified as, “another kick to the head.”
CM Punk defeats Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez), and Miz, in a three way TLC match for the WWE Championship
Champions usually fare pretty well in three ways. WWE loves declaring the 33% chance of winning, which is absolutely incorrect, unless of course Roxy Roxborough actually says it.
Punk starts climbing and as he does, Ricardo Rodriguez manages to handcuff Punk to a ladder.
Punk broke free by breaking the ladder strut, to which he was attached. In hindsight, the handcuffing was ridiculously unnecessary.
Del Rio delivers an enziguri on Punk and then Punk takes a bump through a table to the floor.
Why does Ricardo cut his hair so he looks like a vampire?
Del Rio gets up alone, with enough energy to dilly dally on the floor before easily setting up a ladder. I guess he accidentally swallowed a Qualude somewhere in there, because as he steps on to the ladder, he lost the ability to move his muscles, and could not climb.
Rodriguez takes a bump off the ladder through a table on the floor.
Oh wait, now Miz handcuffs Punk to the turnbuckle which is ridiculous, but then Punk actually tries to reach for the belt, as if, maaaaaybe he can win the match from his knees attached to the ring post.
Super Punk breaks free from the handcuffs a second time, climbs the ladder and dumps Del Rio, catches Miz in the GTS and climbs again to grab the belt, in really good TLC match.
Analysis: This show has been the best TLC to date. The main event was very good. The HHH match was pretty good. The Air Boom match was short but fun, and everything else felt appropriately placed. Even Big Show and Henry had a decent chairs match. We saw Z Ry and D Bry win belts, and we may have seen Booker T’s last match. I’d call that a thumbs up show.
After Dark Radio is back tonight with our Sasquatch Special! Dr. Matthew Johnson joins us to talk his work with Bigfoot habituation, the Southern Oregon Habituation Area, some of his best vocalizations and more! We’re also joined at the start of the program by Johnny Manson and David Ellis of the Olympic Project to talk the Sasquatch Summit this weekend in Ocean Shores, WA! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Celebrating a decade since the PPH began kicking it like an angry Kawada, Mike Sempervive is joined by Alan4L to talk ALL OF THE CONTINENTS. The main topics today are the Tenryu retirement show and the scene in Europe, with sidebars galore. Tenryu memories, indy sleaze, Satomura love, bumping 73 year olds, Big Japan-Strong BJ greatness, Fujita fail, the scene for promotions in Europe, some wrestlers of note, Marty can’t help but Party, Alan’s announcing exploits, comparing Rousey to Hingis, and so much more. Not really sure what it should be called, but it’s a THREE HOUR DKPBANF4WWON epic event!
We’re looking for your thoughts on UFC 193 and also the Tenryu retirement show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer
We’re also looking for reports on the WWE show yesterday in Minehead, England and NXT shows in Winter Haven, Orlando and Sebring, Florida, and today’s Lucha Underground taping in Boyle Heights and ICW show in Glasgow to Dave Meltzer
Raw will be live Monday night from Greenville, SC. The show will feature the quarterfinals of the WWE championship tournament. The quarterfinals have Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro Alberto Del Rio vs. Kalisto, Kevin Owens vs. Neville and Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler. I believe all four bouts will be on the show Monday but it’s possible they may hold one of them off until Smackdown. Undertaker and Kane will be back on Raw this week to build Survivor Series.
Exclusive news on WrestleMania, how SummerSlam has changed due to the Seth Rollins injury, updates on Rollins, notes on the WWE title tournament and what key stars besides Rollins and Randy Orton are now unlikely to wrestle at WrestleMania is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We also look at the different potential finishes of the WWE title tournament, how it looks to be progressing, a look at the Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock fight and look back 20 years to their two previous fights, lots of notes on the fight, and the back story.
We also look at WrestleMania tickets, the Wayne Rooney angle, Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista update, More on Alberto Del Rio’s outside business and his angle in Puerto Rico, Undertaker week, WWE make more network predictions, notes from the next Madison Square Garden show, notes on Raw this week, Ronda Rousey talks WWE Divas division, what WWE star is ready to return from surgery, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events of the past week and business note.
We also have our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, to see how both groups are doing as compared to the same period last year, as well as a breakdown on how every different WWE main event is drawing over the past month.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
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If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
I’m sorry for being so shaken last night in the show about Nick Bockwinkel. Thanks to Bryan for doing a show so quickly after already completing a show.
Insane Championship Wrestling out of Scotland, the group Grado and Drew Galloway are the big stars of, announced after selling out a 4,000 seat arena today that they are going to take a much bigger step and try and run the 13,000 seat SSE Hydro Arena.
Roderick Strong didn’t wrestle last night in the ROH Survival of the Fittest match in Hopkins, MN, due to suffering a concussion in his Friday night match in Milwaukee, from a kick by Cedric Alexander. The impression we got last night is they don’t think it’s a bad concussion, but it is a concussion and you can’t be risking it.
Aside from needing plastic surgery on her lip that was split in two, Ronda Rousey was okay physically last night. Even though she was knocked out, the reports were that they don’t believe she suffered a concussion.
Ronda Rousey got more than 10 million searches on Google this weekend, more than anything but Paris. Usually that correlates to a buy rate number, which would be through the roof, but in this case I don’t think it predicts anything. Joanna Jedrzejczyk had 50,000 searches yesterday.
After Michael Elgin won Survival of the Fittest, which earns him a title shot, he said he’d like to get the shot in Tokyo. The plan is for 1/4 at the Tokyo Dome.
WWE
Congratulations to Randy Orton, who got married to Kim Kessler yesterday in Las Vegas.
Tickets for the 2/21 Fast Lane PPV in Cleveland at the Quicken Loans Arena go on sale to the public on 11/21.
Reader Reed Benson, who lives in mainland China, noted that the CCTV English news channel covered the Wayne Rooney appearance on Raw with King Barrett, on Friday. Then on Saturday, they showed it again and the anchor said he just wanted to see it again. Benson said that’s the only two times he’s seen anything wrestling related on CCTV’s news in either English or Chinese.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk suffered a broken hand in the co-main event last night where she defeated Valerie Letourneau by decision.
On Friday Meredith Vieira on her show talked about the thing in Ronda Rousey’s book about beating up her boyfriend when he shot nudes of her without her knowledge. She said the UFC should step up and do something and set a precedent like Major League Baseball.
In UFC 193 picks, David Bixenspan led the way again with 4-1. Dave Meltzer, Josh Nason, Jack Encarnacao, Front Row Brian, John Pollock, and Mike Sempervive all went 3-2. Steve Juon and Mike Sawyer were each 2-3.
Tim Kennedy said he’s positive Vitor Belfort is still using steroids and implies others are as well
Things I wish I hadn’t seen: “What I really think the world needs is another Holocaust, but this time for the Islams of the world…The ones who REALLY should be extinguished. HAIL TRUMP.” That was from Tammy Sytch.
St. Louis Anarchy from last night in Alton, IL: Christian Rose b Jojo Bravo, Matt Cage b Danny Adams, Trik Davis b Mike Outlaw, Devin & Mason Cutter b Mikey McFinnegan & Zakk Sawyers, DJ Zema Ion b Everett Connors, Jordan Lacey b Gerald James-DQ in a 2/3 fall match, Mat Fitchett won Royal Rumble
St. Louis Anarchy from Friday night in Alton, IL: Paco Gonzalez b Steve O Reno, Alex Castle b Mike Outlaw, Matt Cage b Trik Davis, Jeremy Wyatt & Christian Rose b Mikey McFinnegan & Zakk Sawyers, Gerald James b Davey Richards to retain title in a 2/3 fall match, Ricky Starks won four-way over Mallaki Matthews, Jordan Lacey and Jay Howard, Davey Vega b DJ Zema Ion, Mat Fitchett b Jojo Bravo, Evan Gelistico & Adam Caster & Danny Adams & Everett Connors b Devin & Mason Cutter & Alexandre Rudolph & Jake Parnell-DQ (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Santana Garrett retained her NWA women’s title today in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall over Holidead on the Stardom show. It was the first time the NWA women’s title was defended in Japan in a long time. One report dated it back to when Moolah went, and I don’t think Moolah went after the late 60s. Results saw Jungle Kyouna b Morno Watanabe, Haruka Kato & Saori Anou b Hiromi Mimura & Starlight Kid, Act Yasukawa & Kris Wolf & Kyoko Kimura b Alex Lee & Datura & Kaori Yoneyama, Kairi Hojo b Mika Iwata, Io Shirai retained her Wonder of Stardom title over Sendai Sachiko, Meiko Satomura retaied her World of Stardom title over Mayu Iwatani via ref stoppage after she passed out from a choke (thanks to Al Haft)
Acclaim Pro Wrestling on 11/21 in Ottawa at the SPK Dom Polski Polish Combatants Centre
Lucha Toronto on 1/24 in Scarborough, ONT at 3107 Danforth Ave. with L.A. Park, Pantera, El Hijo del Pantera and Lince Dorado.
Chaos for Canines on 11/22 at 2 p.m. in Toronto at the Longbranch Legion.
CWF on 11/20 at the Mid Atlantic Sportatorium in Gibsonville, NC with Shane Helms, appearing for a meet and greet and a 2/3 fall triathlon match.
Lucha Xtreme from last night on Fresno TV: Guerrero de la Muerta b Jesse Poole, La Mascara (not the CMLL wrestler) b Chad Dougals, Mortal b Brandon Groom to win the Lucha Extreme title. Next TV taping is Saturday in Merced, CA at the American Legion Post at 939 W. Main St. at 5 p.m.
Main Event Wrestling in Rushton, LA last night before 350 fans with Drew Gulak and Timothy Thatcher. Action Jackson b Soldier Ant, Safari b Devyn, Manimal b Rodney Mack, Matt Justice b Raphael King, Chase Stevens & Cassidy Riley b Timothy Thatcher & Drew Gulak, Big Daddy Yumyum b Moonshine Mansell (thanks to Charles Humprhreys)
Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling from last night in Swansea, IL before 400 fans: Barracus b Brent Meyers, Gunner b Jimmy D, Sean Vincent & Chas Wesson b Bubba Troll & Curtis Wylde, Jake Dirden DDQ Ax, Chris Hargas & Brandon Espinosa b Bobby D & Ironman Ken Kasa, Bobby D won Battle Royal, Flash Flanagan b Gary Jackson-COR (thanks to Larry Matysik)
Maryland Championship Wrestling from last night in Joppa, MD: Bruiser b Fenix Fury, Kai Katana b Hoss Hagood, Hell Cats won three-way over Punk Rock All-Stars and Dixon Line, Renee Michelle b Tessa Blanchard, Eddie Smooth b Bo Nekoda, Eric Chapel & Dirty Money b C-Fed & G-Fed, Mickie James b Amber Rodriguez in a loser leaves town match, King McBride b Brandon Scott. Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon and Baby Doll were there talking about their memories of their days wrestling in Baltimore. They have shows on 12/4 in Felton, DE at the Delaware Auto Exchange with Mick Foley and The Headbangers, and 12/26 in Joppa, MD at the MCW Arena with Chyna, Ethan Carter III and Ashley Massaro.
UPW November to Dismember in Rochester, NY from last night: Ryan Cassidy b Jordan Falco, Marc Hauss b Carter Mason, Cheech b Kevin Bennett, Ethan Page b Coconut Jones, Tigerslayer 08 b Home Wreckers and Rochester Wrecking Crew in three-way to win tag titles, Lionel Knight b Space Monkey, Venomous NC Rik Matrix, Mattlick NC Cloudy, Professor Wessler & Dewey Lee & Chip Stetson & LaDiva & Eric Rosecroft b Victor Lord & Ron Falco & Thomas Torrens & Yamaraj & Dave Jacobs in a Survivor Series match, Maximo Suave b Tito Santana-DQ (thanks to Todd Brantley)
Kansas City, Kansas: Attendance was 3,200 (sellout) – Buddy Rogers beat Roy Graham in 2 out of 3 falls – Heart of America Champion: Jimmy Coffield and Dennis Clary went to a 45 minute draw
1954
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: – Tex McKenzie & Ilio DiPaolo defeated Tiny & Al Mills to win the NWA Canadian Tag Team Title
1955
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – Verne Gagne beat Kinji Shibuya by countout – Red Bastien beat Duke DeMetri
1962
Kansas City, Kansas: – Bob Orton defeated Roy Collins – Bob Geigel & Lee Henning defeated Matt Jewell & Sonny Myers in three falls – Tiny Mills fought Red Bastien to a no contest – Pat O’Connor fought Bob Ellis to a draw in three falls
1972
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Ed Francis & Billy Robinson beat Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens in 2 out of 3 falls to win AWA Tag Team Title (Title change only recognized in Honolulu) – Dusty Rhodes beat Sam Steamboat in 2 out of 3 falls to win North American title – Giant Baba beat Bulldog Brown dq – Lonnie Mad Dog Mayne beat Jack Carson – Tony Borne drew Ray Glenn
1973
Kansas City, Kansas: – Mike George & Jim Brunzell fought Baron Scicluna & Bob Orton ton a draw – Kit Conway defeated Bob Brown via DQ – Steve Bolus & Gentleman Ben the Wrestling Bear defeated Tokyo Joe & Taro Kabayoshi – Roger Kirby & Lord Alfred Hayes defeated Jose Rivera & Black Angus – Harley Race defeated Dory Funk, Jr. in three falls
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – No dq Match: Superstar Billy Graham beat the Crusher – Billy Robinson & Geoff Portz beat Larry Heiniemi & Buddy Wolff – Mad Dog Vachon beat Reggie Parks – Rene Goulet drew Billy Red Cloud – Greg Gagne beat Ric Flair
1976
Augusta, Georgia: – Dick Slater defeated Mr. Wrestling #2 to win the Georgia Heavyweight Title
Omaha, Nebraska: – No dq Match: The Crusher beat Baron Von Raschke – Pierre Poisson beat Peter Maivia (sub Greg Gagne) – Jim Brunzell beat Bobby Duncum – Pedro Morales beat Moose Morowski
– Greg Valentine defeated Tim Woods to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title
1977 Macon, Georgia: – Tommy Rich & Tony Atlas defeated Jacques Goulet & Ole Anderson to win the Georgia Tag Team Titles
1983
Allentown, Pennsylvania: – Tony Atlas & Rocky Johnson defeated The Samoans (Afa & Sika) for the WWF World Tag Team Titles
1985
Denver, Colorado: (Attendance was 7,500) – Road Warriors drew Fabulous Freebirds – AWA Champion Rick Martel drew Stan Hansen – AWA Tag Team Champions Jim Garvin & Steve Regal beat Fabulous Ones
1989
Troy, New York: – Ric Flair defeated Terry Funk in an “I Quit” match – The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) defeated The Dynamic Dudes (Johnny Ace & Shane Douglas) – Rick & Scott Steiner defeated The Skyscrapers (Dan Spivey & Sid Vicious) via DQ
1998
St. Louis, Missouri: – The Rock defeated Mankind to win the vacant WWF Championship in the finals of a one night tournament
2009
Orlando, Florida: – TNA Champion AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels to retain the title – Kurt Angle defeated Desmond Wolfe (Nigel McGuinness) – Scott Steiner defeated Bobby Lashley in a no DQ street fight
Nick Bockwinkel, one of the greatest pro wrestlers of the last 50 years, passed away a few hours ago just shy of his 81st birthday.
Bockwinkel, whose father was noted pro wrestler Warren Bockwinkel, started pro wrestling in the mid-1950s after losing his football career at the University of Oklahoma ended due to a knee injury. He was a star on the West Coast first, and traveled all over the world for 32 years as a headliner.
He was most famous in the AWA. He arrived there around 1970 and quickly became the go-to heavyweight singles heavyweight main eventer, and the main rival of Verne Gagne, the owner and perennial champion, for a decade. He held the AWA title on four occasions, most notably from 1975 to 1980, and again from 1981 to 1984. He was also AWA tag team champion three times, with Ray Stevens, in what was generally considered the best tag team unit of the 70s.
Bockwinkel took the AWA title out of just the Midwest and wrestled all over the country as champion, including places like Houston, San Antonio, Stampede Wrestling and Memphis, where the title became as big or bigger than the NWA title.
Bockwinkel was a pro’s pro in every way, a masterful worker, great promo, who carried himself like a champion at all times, even well into his 50s. Bockwinkel was just of his 52nd birthday when he had his 60 minute draw with Curt Hennig on ESPN that was one of the best matches of the 80s.
On a personal level, Nick was one of the great teachers and philosophers in this business and the amount that I learned from him can never to put into words. It was very sad the past year when this brilliant performer was battling memory issues and hearing about his last public appearance at the Cauliflower Alley Club this past year. Bockwinkel was the longtime President of the Club before giving up his duties due to health issues over the past year.
– Vampiro opened up the show giving us an update after the conclusion of season one: Dario Cueto’s whereabouts are unknown, and Katrina is in charge of the Temple
– There is a throne where the live music was last season, and champion Mil Muertes sits stoically the whole show watching on.
Trios match
– Drago & Bengala & Famous B vs. Cage & Cortez Castro & Cisco
Drago & Bengala & Famous B win when Drago pinned Castro. Cage then turned on Castro and Cisco and played to the crowd.
Fenix vs. King Cuerno for the Gift of the Gods Championship
Cuerno pinned Fenix with a package piledriver. Good Match.
Ivelisse vs. Angelico vs. Son of Havok for shot at the Lucha Underground title
Ivelisse pinned Angelico with roll up.
– Muertes left his perch and a match quickly commenced between him and Ivelisse. Angelico and Son of Havoc are cheering her on and The Disciples clean house and leave Mil Muertes to demolish Ivelisse. There was an armbar spot that put Mil in danger but Mil recovered and shortly afterwards pins her. Katrina comes in to do her lick spot but does not do it; she then commands Mil to finish the job. He is about to kill Ivelisse when Prince Puma runs in, grabs her and runs off. As Puma is talking crap to Mil, Pentagon Jr runs out to a huge pop, does a lung blower, sets up the arm break spot, and “breaks” Muertes’ arm. Pentagon was super over.
Day Twp —
Killshot vs. Johnny Mundo
Great match. Mundo nutshot followed by the end of world moonsault. There were two ref bumps prior to the finish.
Mundo cut a promo about Alberto El Patron not coming back after the beating he gave him at Ultima Lucha and how he had the best match at Ultima Lucha and deserves a shot at the title. Cage interrupted him and talked about his match and how it was better and how he wants a chance at Mil Muertes. They shoot barbs back and forth and Johhny plays to the crowd. He was a heel so the crowd renamed him Johnny Puto.
Mack vs. PJ Black
This was PJ’d debut. Good all-around match although PJ botched one spot as he slipped on the rope. Mack wins with the RKO out of nowhere.
Handicap Match: Disciples of Death vs. Pentagon and Puma
Pentagon pinned Purple Disciple after Puma lands a his 450 splash Pentagon and Puma didn’t get along, after the match they teased Pentagon breaking Puma’s arm but it didn’t happen.
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm from the Ethiad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The event is headlined by UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey putting her championship, and status as the most dominant female fighter on the planet, on the line against undefeated challenger Holly Holm. In the co-main event, it is a second womens’ title fight as UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk defends against Valerie Letourneau. The action kicks off with preliminary card fights at 6:15 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass. The action moves over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time with additional preliminary fights before the main card kicks off at 10 PM eastern time on pay-per-view. We are looking for your thoughts on the show, so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle as well as a best fight and worst fight to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
FLYWEIGHTS- BEN NGUYEN (13-5, 1-0 UFC) VS. RYAN BENOIT (8-3, 1-1 UFC)
First round: This isn’t an early arriving crowd at all. Real noticeable in such a huge stadium. Nguyen is from Australia so he’s the crowd favorite. Nguyen hurt him with a left and right and took him down. Now he’s in full mount. Benoit gave up his back. He’s got him flattened out near the cage. He’s now working for a choke. Benoit is protecting his neck. Nguyen landing punches now. He flattened him out again and working for a choke Benoit tapped out.
WELTERWEIGHTS- JAMES MOONTASRI (8-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. ANTON ZAFIR (7-1, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Hard body kick by Moontasri. Good right by Zafir. He went for a takedown but couldn’t get it. Takedown by Zafir. Zafir with punches and a knee to the body. Moontasri back up. Moontasri briefly tried a guillotine. Moontasri moved away. High kick by Moontasri. Front kick by Zafir Spinning backfist by Moontasri put Zafir down and finished him with punches on the ground. It was a spinning back kick to the ribs and then the spinning backfist. Zafir said his ribs were broken.
WELTERWEIGHTS- RICHARD WALSH (8-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. STEVE KENNEDY (22-7, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Walsh from Sydney is the big babyface here. Walsh with low kicks. Kennedy’s leg is about to give out. Walsh landing a lot of punches. Kennedy’s left leg is all bruised up. Kennedy got a takedown and got his back. Walsh back up. Kennedy took him down again. Kennedy is working for a choke. Kennedy now working for a Kimura. Hard round to score 10-9 Walsh.
Second round: Crowd super hot at the start of round two. Walsh landing punches. Kennedy went for a takedown but Walsh landed on top after sprawling. Walsh backed off and wanted him to stand. Good right by Walsh. Kennedy failed another takedown. Kennedy tried a triangle but lost him. Walsh blocked another takedown and Walsh on top landing punches. Walsh landing a lot of punches from the top. Walsh backed off and Kennedy had to get up. Takedown by Kennedy. He’s staying on top. 20-18 Walsh but first round could go the other way.
Third round: Body kick by Kennedy. Walsh with a left. Walsh landing punches and on top. Walsh has his back. Walsh let him up and landed a punch. Kennedy staying on his back. The ref ordered Kennedy to stand. Nice uppercut by Kennedy. Kennedy laid on his back again. Walsh punching and kicking the the left leg Walsh landing punches. Walsh landed a right on the ground. Walsh with a few more punches on the ground. Walsh 30-27, although 29-28 would be okay, but Walsh easily took this
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Walsh.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- DAN KELLY (9-1, 2-1 UFC) VS. STEVE MONTGOMERY (8-3, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Kelly the hometown hero but he’s 38 years old. Nice left by Kelly. Knee by Montgomery to the body. Body kick by Montgomeruy. Big left by Kelly. Kelly landing a lot of punches from close range. Judo takedown by Kelly and he’s landing elbows. Kelly landing punches on the ground. Montgomery back up. Another judo hip toss by Kelly. Kelly landing more punches on the ground. Kelly thinkng a choke. Elbow on the ground by Kelly. Another takedown by Kelly. Kelly 10-9.
Second round: Montgomery landing punches but Kelly got a clinch. Kelly didn’t get the takedown and an elbow by Montgomery. Good left by Montgomery. Both trading punches. Knees by Montgomery from close range. Left by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery from the clinch. Judo whip by Kelly. Kelly working for a guillotine. Now he’s looking for a D’arce choke. Montgomery back up. Left by Kelly. Another left by Kelly. High kick by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery. Montgomery landing punches. Uppercut by Montgomery. Kelly is clearly tired. Punches by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery. Kelly missed a throw. Another knee by Montgomery. Montgomery’s round so 19-19 going into the thrid.
Third round: Knee by Montgomery. Accidental low knee by Montgomery. Left by Montgomery. Montgomery landing all kinds of jabs. Kelly got a clinch. Kelly went for a takedown but Montgomery blocked it. Montgomery landing but Kelly with a good left. Body kick by Montgomery. Another left by Kelly. Kelly got a clinch but Montgomery escaped. Montgomery with jabs. Kelly with a left. Body kick by Montgomery and more punches. Big left by Kelly, Good low kick by Montgomery. Another left by Kelly. Big left by Kelly. Knees by Kelly. Kelly threw him down That may have won him the fight. Kelly has his back. Kelly working for a choke but doesn’t have it. Kelly bleeding. Kelly spun to side mount and into full mount. Kelly landing punches from the top and Kennedy moved. Kelly working for a head and arm choke. He doesn’t have it. Time is running out. But that won him the fight. Good fight. Kelly 29-28.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 Kelly
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
FLYWEIGHTS- RICHIE VACULIK (10-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. DANNY MARTINEZ (16-7, 0-3 UFC)
First round: Martinez throwing punches. Vaculik fought at 155 on TUF and is now fighting at 125. Takedown by Martinez. Elbow by Martinez. Both swinging. Martinez landing punches. Vaculik with a takedown. Martinez escaped. Martinez 10-9.
Second round: Martinez landing punches early. Takedown by Maritnez. Martinez has him against the fence. Martinez dropped him He landed a knee and hard punches. Hard left by Martinez. Takedown by Vaculik and he’s got his back. Martinez reversed to the top. Takedown by Martinez. Martinez landing some punches from the top. 20-18 Martinez.
Third round: Takedown by Vaculik. Takedown by Martinez. Knee by Martinez as Vaculik got up. Vaculik started landking but Martinez took him out again. Another takedown by Martinez. Martinez with punches. Martinez with punches on the ground. Vaculik got up.
Scores: 30-27 across the board for Martinez.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- ANTHONY PEROSH (15-9, 5-6 UFC) VS. GIAN VILLANTE (13-6, 3-3 UFC)
First round: Villante hurt him with a right. High kick by Villante. Villante is a lot more patient than in the past after the Tom Lawlor fight. Villante with right. Good uppercut by Villante. Perosh is wobbly. Body kick by Villante. Left by Villante. Perosh with a right. Villante knocked him out with a right to the jaw.
WELTERWEIGHTS- KYLE NOKE (21-7-1, 5-3 UFC) VS. PETER SOBOTTA (15-4-1, 2-3 UFC)
First round: Noke is from Australia, one of their veteran stars. Sobotta landing punches. Noke landed a great kick to the body and Sobotta collapsed. That was a perfect sick kick. Noke is landing punches on the ground. And it’s over. It was a front kick right to the ribs.
First round: Left by Arreola. Right by Arreola. Left by Arreola. Matthews with punches in the clinch. Arreola tripped him up and landed a good left. Arreola hurt him. He dropped him with a head kick and now has his back He’s working for a choke. More punches by Arreola and he’s again working for a choke. He’s again working for a choke. Matthew escaped and got on top and Mathew pouding the hell out of him Matthews with elbows. Hard round to judge. 10-9 Arreola
Second round: Matthews with a body kick. Takedown by Matthews. Matthews with elbows from the top. Matthews with more elbows and Arreola bleeding. Matthew swith a hard punches and elbows. Now body shots by Matthews. 10-8 round for Matthews so up 19-18.
Third round: The doctor stopped the fight because the cut so Matthews won. The cut over the right eye was pretty deep and was swelling really badly. Arreola was really upset by it.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#14) STEFAN STRUVE (26-7, 10-5 UFC) VS. JARED ROSHOLT (13-2, 5-1 UFC)
First round: Rosholt landed a right. Rosholt with a low kick. Fans booing the lack of action. Rosholt got the takedown. He’s in side control. Fans booing. Rosholt back on top. He moved to side control. Struve kicked him off but Rosholt back on top. Rosholt 10-9. Crowd booing.
Second round: Struve’s s left leg is all bruised up. Rosholt landed a right. Rosholt moved in to try and takedown. Rosholt got the takedown. He got up but Rosholt dragged him down. Rosholt in side control. Struve throwing nasty elbows late in the round with both on their back. Rosholt 20-18.
Third round: Low kick by Struve. Struve landed a left. Right by Struve. Another right by Struve. Low kick by Struve. Rosholt tried for a takedown but Struve blocked it. Rosholt moved in for another takedown. Head kick by Struve. Front kick by Struve. Right and left by Struve. Struve landed a few punches but Rosholt took him down and moved into side control. Struve up and Rosholt shoved him into the fence. Rosholt running away. Struve took him down. Struve landed elbows. Crowd booing. Struve won the round but Rosholt should have it 29-28.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 Rosholt
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- (#10) URIAH HALL (12-5, 5-3 UFC) VS. (#14) ROBERT WHITTAKER (14-4, 5-2 UFC)
First round: Whittaker came out aggressive. Hard right by Whittaker. High kick by Hall. Body kick and left by Hall. Low kick by Whittaker. Hall went for some Ricochet double spin kick and Whittaker took him down. Left and right from the top by Whittaker. Whittaker got mount but Hall kicked him off. Whittaker landing punches from the top. Whittaker has his back. Hall reversed to the top. 10-9 Whittaker.
Second round: Whittaker rocked him with a right. Whittaker got behind him and stomped his foot. Hall got lucky. He got punched in the eye but the ref called it an eye poke so he got off the hook. Right by Whtitaker. Whittaker bleeding from the nose. Whittaker landed a nice left. Whittaker 20-18.
Third round: Hall out aggressively but Whittaker landing punches that hurt Hall. Whittaker stomping his foot. Hall landed a head kick. Flying knee and another head kick by Hall. Hall with knees the body. Hall coming back. Whittaker just trying to tie him up. Great front kick and head kick by Hall. Whittaker landed a left. Left by Whittaker. Nice right by Whittaker. Hall with a right. Whttaker with a body kick and punch. Whittaker got behind him. Whattaker took him down. Hall’s round so Whittaker 29-28. Really fun fight.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 Whittaker
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#8) MARK HUNT (10-10-1, 5-4-1 UFC) VS. (#11) ANTONIO SILVA (19-7-1, 3-4-1 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Hunt. They exchanged punches. Hunt with a low kick. Hard body kick by Hunt. Knee by Silva. Another low kick by Hunt. Hunt dropped him and it’s over.
First round: Letourneau punched her and got her down and punching on the ground. Joanna back up. Both throwing knees. Great kick to the face by Joanna which turned Letourneau around. Exchanging punches. Letourneou with high kick. Letourneau 10-9.
Second round: Both exchanging punches. Low kick by Joanna. Joanna threw a kick but Letrouneau caught the leg. Letourneau pushed her against the cage. Elbows by Joanna. Exchanges. Letourneau landed the best shot. Letourneua landed a few. Joanna with a right. Joanna with a series of punches. Joanna’s round close 19-19.
Third round: Nice front kick by Joanna. Joanna with a low kick. Joanna now landing a lot. Letourneau looks tired now. Joanna landing a lot now. Letourneau’s face is all bruised up. Joanna’s round she’s up 29-28.
Fourth round: Good right by Joanna. Front kick by Joanna. She went for another one but Letourneau caught the leg. Both trading shots. Joanna busting her up now. Joanna landing kicks and punches. The crowd is starting to boo now. Letourneau landed some punches. Front kick by Joanna. Joanna landed a lot of punches late in the round. 39-37 Joanna.
Fifth round: Joanna has thrown more than 200 strikes. Body kick by Letourneau. Joanna is too quick at this point. Low kicks by Joanna. Letourneau’s left leg is all red. Low kick and rihg by Joanna. Joanna landing a lot of punches. Letourneau back with a punch. Joanna messed up her left eye and left leg. Very good fight. 49-46 Joanna. Joanna landed 258 total strikes in the fight.
First round: Ronda wouldn’t touch gloves. Holm landed a left. Left by Holm. Right by Holm. Ronda landed with a right. Ronda locked up with her. It’s turning into a kickboxing match. Right by Holm. Right by Holm. Ronda locked her up. Rousey got her down. Holm escaped the armbar. Holm kicking the knee and dancing away. Left by Holm. Big left by Holm. Hard left by Holm. Anothrer left by Holm Ronda with a left. Holm took her down. Crazy. Back in a clich. Holm 10-9.
Second round: Ronda is tired and her nose is all bloody. More lefts by Holm. Side kick by Holm. Rousey missed a punch and fell down. Left head kick by Holm knocked Rousey down and she’s in trouble. Punches on the ground and it’s over. Wow. :59
On a day like this it is difficult to find the words, so I will keep this short. A lot of innocent people in Paris lost their lives to senseless acts of violence. They didn’t deserve it. It is hard to fathom why this happened.
All of us at F4WOnline.com send our condolences, prayers and positive thoughts to those who were effected by this tragedy in Paris.
Joint statement from UFC and Etihad Stadium, the location of tonight’s UFC Rousey vs. Holm event tonight:
Etihad Stadium and UFC jointly send their thoughts and sympathy to those impacted by the terrible incidents which occurred in France.
Regarding tomorrow’s scheduled UFC 193 card at Etihad Stadium, officials from Etihad Stadium, UFC, and Victoria Police have come together to review all major safety protocols and procedures prior to this major event. This risk assessment and planning process takes place before all events held at Etihad Stadium, and the venue, promoter and police will remain diligent in this process in light of today’s tragedies in France.
We have been advised by Victoria Police there is nothing to suggest that tomorrow’s event will in any way be impacted by the events in France, it is important to note that precautions are being taken to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all in attendance.
We’re looking for reports on today’s WWE show in Nottingham, England, NXT in Orlando, ROH in Milwaukee (A.J. Styles & Young Bucks vs. Jay Lethal & Donovan Dijak & Joey Daddiego, Michael Bennett & Matt Taven vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly for tag titles plus Survivor of the Fittest matches with Mark Briscoe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Hanson vs. Kenny King, Jay Briscoe vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Ray Rowe vs. Rhett Titus, Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin vs. Moose, Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young vs. Adam Page and Roderick Strong vs. Cedric Alexander), NXT in Orlando and House of Hardcore in Philadelphia shows.
******
We’re also looking for reports on yesterday’s WWE shows in Newcastle, England and Bologna, Italy, yesterday’s NXT in Winter Haven, FL and Wednesday’s show in Rome at Dave Meltzer
We’ll be doing polls this weekend on both UFC 194 and the Tenryu retirement show.
UFC SATURDAY NIGHT FROM ETIHAD STADIUM IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRAILA
Fight Pass at 6:15 p.m. Eastern time
Ryan Benoit vs. Ben Nguyen
Steven Kennedy vs. Richard Walsh
Steve Montgomery vs. Daniel Kelly
James Moontasri vs. Brendan O’Reilly
FS 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern
Richie Vacuik vs. Danny Martinez
Anthony Perosh vs. Gian Villante
Kyle Noke vs. Pete Sobotta
Jake Matthews vs.
PPV AT 10 p.m. Eastern
Jared Rosholt vs. Stefan Struve
Uriah Hall vs. Robert Whittaker
Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Bigfoot Silva
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Valerie Letourneau for strawweight title
Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm for bantamweight title
TENRYU RETIREMENT SHOW FROM SUMO HALL IN TOKYO AT 1 A.M. EASTERN LATE SATURDAY/10 P.M. PACIFIC TIME
Suwama & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazuyuki Fujita
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kazuchika Okada
This show features world champions from three different offices, Big Japan (Okabayashi), NOAH (Suzuki) and New Japan (Okada).
Sunday has Insane Championship Wrestling in Glasgow, Scotland with Drew Galloway vs. Grado in what will be the most attended show from a UK based promotion in 33 years, as well as the second day of the Lucha Underground tapings in Boyle Heights, CA.
Raw will be live Monday night from Greenville, SC. The show will feature the quarterfinals of the WWE championship tournament. The quarterfinals have Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro Alberto Del Rio vs. Kalisto, Kevin Owens vs. Neville and Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler. It’s possible all of these matches will be on Raw, or that some may be taped for Smackdown.
Exclusive news on WrestleMania, how SummerSlam has changed due to the Seth Rollins injury, updates on Rollins, notes on the WWE title tournament and what key stars besides Rollins and Randy Orton are now unlikely to wrestle at WrestleMania is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We also look at the different potential finishes of the WWE title tournament, how it looks to be progressing, a look at the Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock fight and look back 20 years to their two previous fights, lots of notes on the fight, and the back story.
We also look at WrestleMania tickets, the Wayne Rooney angle, Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista update, More on Alberto Del Rio’s outside business and his angle in Puerto Rico, Undertaker week, WWE make more network predictions, notes from the next Madison Square Garden show, notes on Raw this week, Ronda Rousey talks WWE Divas division, what WWE star is ready to return from surgery, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events of the past week and business note.
We also have our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, to see how both groups are doing as compared to the same period last year, as well as a breakdown on how every different WWE main event is drawing over the past month.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
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If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
The Bellas were in Paris yesterday. The were within 6km of some of the attacks. They posted on their twitter and instagram.
Fusion has an article blaming WWE for the political rise of Donald Trump. Trump hosted two different WrestleMania events in the 1980s and also appeared as a cornerman for a Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga match which, at the time, was the biggest-money WrestleMania event in history. Trump had his hair on the line against the hair of Vince McMahon, which, of course, led to Vince being shaved bald.
Danny in the UK wrote in to talk about the “WHO ARE YOU?” chants at the Raw and Smackdown shows for guys like Braun Strowman and Tyler Breeze. “We do not use this chant because we don’t actually know who he is, it’s more of an insult for someone who is new or rather insignificant. It has been popularised at football matches here for example if a big club such as Manchester United played a smaller club such as Doncaster Rovers, everyone here knows who Doncaster are and where they are located but they would use the chant as an insult towards the smaller club. The NXT show will be awesome when it comes to the UK and the crowd will be on fire.”
Information on the next WWE Performance Center All Access weekend in January is up on the WWE.com website.
Here’s a column on Hulk Hogan speaking about the potential of John Cena someday turning heel.
Steve Austin got a mention in this WSJ article about podcasting. (Thanks to Nick DeLeon)
Smackdown was up slightly this week to 2.3 million viewers from the 2.1 million last week.
UFC/MMA
Dana White tweeted the reverse angle of the Ronda Rousey-Holly Holm weigh-in staredown/confrontation.
Here’s the entire thing complete with Ronda’s fiery promo after their altercation at the weigh-ins.
Ronda Rousey was announced as the cover athlete for EA Sports UFC 2 in an extensive trailer talking about how she grew up loving EA Sports games and now gets to be on the cover of one. EA Sports’ site has a list of the new features in the game, while Shaun Al-Shatti at MMAFighting has an interview with game director Brian Hayes.
Ronda on Thursday said that Miesha Tate’s best bet for a title shot was to just wait around for her to retire. She’s been talking retirement a lot lately, and she claimed she had more miles on her body than Miesha did with all of the surgeries and arthritis she said she was battling. She said if Miesha just waited around, she probably could face Holly at some point in a title match. As far as Holm getting the title shot and not Miesha, she noted she’d already beaten Miesha’s ass twice.
A couple of fights recently announced for upcoming UFC cards – For UFC 195 in Vegas on January 2nd, unbeaten Brian Ortega takes on Diego Brandao in a Featherweight bout. For Fight Night 81 in Boston, the loaded FS 1 show headlined by the Dillashaw/Cruz Bantamweight title fight, Lightweight prospects Beneil Dariush and Mairbek Taisumov square off.
Ray Sefo of the World Series of Fighting announced Jake Shields vs. Jon Fitch for the vacant WSOF Welterweight Title on April 1st. The last champion, Rousimar Palhares, was stripped of the title following the fight with Shields earlier this year where he held onto a Kimura too long and allegedly raked Shields’ eyes. Shields was so upset after the fight that he punched Palhares, which ended up with him being disciplined as well.
Other Wrestling
Rey Mysterio called into Busted Open Radio Friday on the anniversary of Eddie Guerrero’s death. On being ready to be World Champion at the time he got the title, Mysterio said, “No, especially not under those circumstances. I guess my career was heading in a different direction. We had just finished our feud with my son, Dominic, and the great story that Eddie put together and how much passion he threw behind that, that character that he was. He was ready to move on with Batista and I really don’t know where I was going, but that changed direction completely for, I believe, for everyone. So I really wasn’t ready at the time, but of course you’ve got to make the best out of it. This was a big opportunity for me and the people knew. The people knew that it was going down for Eddie. I was put on the spot, but I was there representing Eddie.”
Remember Glacier? He did an interview talking about Dusty Rhodes, Lou Thesz, his WCW run, and more.
Pete Gas joins the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast. On Shane McMahon returning to WWE: “I think it’s one of those things where you don’t want to live in your Dad’s shadow. To be honest with you the only person who can truly answer that is Shane. It will always be in his blood to be in the business, whether or not he ever comes back. I don’t know, I couldn’t tell you. But he’s one of those guys that truly loves the business, he loved everything about it but maybe it was something he had to prove to himself.”
The ESPN 30-for-30 documentary Prince Of Pennsylvania that focuses on the Schultz brothers is now available on Netflix.
Maryland Championship Wrestling results (11/13) in Waldorf, MD: G-Fed and The Hell Cats defeated The Kings, Oakley Woods w/Colonel Calihan defeated Rayo, Tessa Blanchard defeated Renee Michelle, MCW Rage TV Champion Brandon Scott defeated Money Green, The Bruiser defeated Paul Jordane, Kimber Lee w/ The Dixon Line defeated Mickie James for the MCW Woman’s Championship after Amber Rodriquez interfered, Lio Rush defeated Eric Chapel w/ Kevin Eck in a no DQ, falls count anywhere match, MCW Champion King McBride defeated Sonjay Dutt to retain. Ric Flair appeared on the show as well. MCW runs Saturday with Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon, Baby Doll & Tessa Blanchard on the show.
SDW returns to the Richfield American Legion with a Holiday Spectacular on Saturday, December 19.
